The Emporia weekly news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1881-1889, 1887-02-10
TEACHING A ZULU.
A south African Chief who Tried to Learn
to Read and Write in One Day.

A south African Chief who Tried to Learn
to Read and Write In One Day.
The Missionary ierGld short time
ago had a notice of jubilee eelebra-
ton of the 1iftie;il anniversary of the
Zulu mission. That reminds me, writes
clergyman TO the Springfield Repub-
ticGa, that ] became missionary to
that most barbaroIs people fifty years
ago, and during that fifty years have
often had some of The occurrences OF
our fest visit 10 Dinean. the chief. run
through my mind. As he had 10 inter-
course with civilized men his ignorance
was almost inconceiVable. He thought
himself the greatest king in the world.
Indeed, he was the greatest chief of all
south Africa. He asked MS if we had
ever seen SO large q house as his, and
to Illustrate the truth of his idea asked
US to stand on our feet and see if we
could touch the roof with our hand.
He asked us why we had come to
him. We told him We had brought the
bible, and wished to teach him the ini-
portant truths it contained. do you
think, then, that you can teach me
anything that / do not already knoWP
Your reference TO book indicates that
you think writing and reading fact"
''Oh. yes. we can both write and read"
''Well, i have heard that white men
pretend to do that, but l class that
among the various performances of
wizards. have men among my people
who do strange things, but they are
wizards, ana as / see white men can
mako cloth, knives, watches, ETC.. can
believe that they have wizards who can
do stranger things than mine. Let me
try you. Send some of your party, who
you say can read. away out of your
hearing, and l will give you words to
write; then call them back and see if
they can read it" He then referred to
his pack of some twenty dogs, lying
near, which were his body-guard, and
said: 'Mosilikatsi is that dog which has
a black ear, Il yellow spot on his side,
and white tip on his tail. Another
dog there which is mostly black, has q
white spot on his head and streak Of
white along his back, We call Taku
Write that down and We will see if
your men can read and pick out those
two dogs from the others" The men
were then called in and the paper
handed 10 them. when they at once
pointed out MosilkatsI and Taku and
gave their names. WELL" the chief
said, ''that is wonder, but it is only
witchcraft. Send the men off again"
He then told us to direct them IN writ
ing to pick up splinter which lay near
the kings foot and put it into his hand.
The men were then called back, thew
looked on the paper, they looked on the
floor, but saw no splinter, and said:
'fFhe writing directs us TO pick up
splinter lying near the kings foot and
put it into his hand, but we saw no
splinter" Noticing that the chief had
Sat, Il 60
to raise up the foot, and the splinter
was under it. "Well, he said, '.that is
pretty good witchcraft, but it can be
nothing else. My words are only sounds
and it is impossible for man to catch
them in his hand as speak, put them
on paper, and another just pick them
up and tell what l said. You are the
cleverest wizards ever saw
But soon a messenger came running
up covered with perspiration and dust
from his violent exercise. The chief,
addressing him. said: '.And what news
do you 6ringp" ''Oh," he said, '.two
white men are coming from away in
terror, from your enemies country, and
l ran with all my might to tell you"
''Well, come, missionaries. now let me
give one more trial in writing. Write
to these white men a letter and let us
be they can not. Some white men can
not. ''Well, write: Who are YOU?
Where are you fromp What news have
you? Stop where this letter finds you
till you hear from me again. The
writing was done, the letter was put
into split stick-the great chiefs
mail-bag--and given to the messenger,
who started back on the run, as he
came. A pencil was tied to the stick
lest the white men should have nothing
TO write with.
The next day We were called up to
Dingan's, but when he presented the
letter sent back by the white men, and
we were requested to read their reply to
what the chief had sent to them, and
the writer's name at the bottom. all of
which was read, he exclaimed: ''Oh,
you know who it is, then; he tells his
name" ayes, he has written his name
there, and when he comes you may call
him by that name" While we were
reading the letter the messenger, who
was down on the ground before the
chief, was very uneasy, thinking he
wished them TO come along TO him. He
said: II told them to come along, that
you wished 10 see them, but they said:
No. 1 sit, 1 sit.' and l took them by the
hand to bring them along, but they
would not come"
.'Oh, see, you did not know that the
letter l sent by you could talk. My let
ter told the men to stop where the letter
found them till / sent 10 them again.
Now, I see that writing and reading
are facts, and so wonderful that l could
not believe them. Come, now, you
much teach me to read and write"
''But it takes time" l replied. land
many mature people can never accom-
plIsh it" mo matter, l can learn any
thing that anybody can. You have
learned it, and l can. Come, begin"
As nothing but q trial would satisfy
him, printed few letters of our
alphabet (for we had not then devised
an alphabet in which to write the Zulu)
and began to teach him A, d, c, and
soon he could call them after us. Then
he Strengthened up and inquired if he
could then read and write. ''Oh, no;
there are several more to learn" ''Well,
let me have them all" But you have
had one lesson; will it not be best to
wait till tomorrow, when we can give
you another lesson?" mo, no, how
can ! wait till tomorrow over so inn
portant a thing as reading and writ
ing? Let me have them all. must
read and write to-day" To satisfy
niLu we PElnteu Inc WnOIS tHeuty-AouES
and went on pointing and calling the
names, and occasionally we led him
over the first he had learned. Soon he
became confused, and would say: ''Se
ngi bohliwe kona lapa'' q have for.
gotten that one), and soon he would
stop again with Mani sc ngi kohliwe
kama lapa," Il have also forgotten that
one), and soon he could not say any of
| them. He threw down pencil and pa
per and said: mo, can not learn as
1 told you" He graduated in one day,
but found that he did not know as
much as he thought he did before the
missionaries came.